The present invention relates to shower systems having vertically adjustable body spray nozzles.
People commonly shower while standing in a tub enclosure or shower stall. The showerhead is usually mounted high on the wall to shower water down upon the person's head and body. Some shower systems also include spray nozzles beneath the main showerhead to spray water laterally toward various parts of the body. Such spray nozzles enhance the showering experience by providing more localized water pressure at targeted muscles and other areas of the body.
Typically such shower systems are vertically fixed at a height that is optimal for average-sized individuals. While such nozzles often can pivot to change the angle of the spray, for very tall adults or young children these standard nozzles will often direct water at undesirable angles. Moreover, a person may wish to more finely adjust the direction of the spray to a particular body region.
It is also known to attach a showerhead to a plumbing supply line via a hose or other flexible conduit to create what is known as a personal shower. The showerhead may be removed from a fixed shower wall mount and held by the hand during showering. However, this requires the bather to assign one hand to holding the spray head. This makes it more difficult to use soap or shampoo, or shave, simultaneously.
In another approach showerheads have been attached to a rod so as to be vertically slidable along the rod. However, these systems typically require the user to loosen and re-tighten fasteners to adjust the height of the showerhead and secure it in the adjusted position.
Other prior art shower systems provide a height adjustment mechanism in which the user can lift or lower a rod supported spout. However, such systems typically require large counter-balancing mechanisms to hold the showerhead at the adjusted position, and thus take up some extra space.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,227 discloses a vertically adjustable showerhead where the showerhead is mounted to a bracket behind the shower wall that has rollers which roll within a vertical track. This system holds the showerhead at prescribed heights by stopping the rollers with indentations in the track. As such, the adjustability of the showerhead is still somewhat limited.
Thus, it can be seen that a need still exists for a further improved system for vertically adjusting shower nozzles.